Its Great To Be Alive!, Well, yeah, but what does that actually mean?
For some time now I have gotten into the habit of starting my day as soon as I wake up and my feet hit the floor, declaring to the world that “it’s great to be alive”. I greet my wife good morning and with a half-smile follow up with “Isn’t it great to wake up alive?” to which my wife through sleep closed eyes usually replies dryly, “well, it certainly beats the alternative!”.
The reason I start my morning this way is because regardless of what I might have in my schedule for the day or what the weather is like, or any number of other things requiring my attention, I want to start my day with a positive and grateful mindset, what better way to do that than by being grateful for being alive right?
Recently, I got to thinking about my new morning ritual and declaration of gratefulness, and specifically, I found myself reflecting on the word ALIVE, and what that meant for me. I remembered having read the book “Your Erroneous Zones” by Dr. Wayne Dyer some time ago and in it he says something along the line that, you know something is alive because it is growing, this really resonated with me. You see for a few weeks prior to this I felt like I wasn’t firing on all cylinders as they say, that maybe I was simply coasting along in life if you like, in a place where everything felt comfortable and well, safe. I guess put simply, I didn’t feel like I was growing.
Then, something wonderful happened. I was placed into a situation in which I felt completely out of my comfort zone, professionally, as a Coach. Being outside of my comfort zone, in this particular situation, made me feel very vulnerable and insecure in myself. Looking back and reflecting on this time, I can see that it was my own fear of putting myself in a position where I felt I could be exposed as a fraud, as an imposter all which ultimately came from a place low self-esteem. The good ole “I can’t possibly do that”, and “I’m not good enough” speak, that inner voice creeping out from behind the woodwork, just waiting to sabotage! “Oh But you’re a life coach” I hear you say, ahh well, yes, and I am also a human first. With that comes all the wonderful intricacies that makes everyone of us unique and amazing in our own way, and I just happen to coach other unique and amazing humans too.
There was another amazing person in this situation with me. A fabulous lady who believed 100% in me, and with her support, she encouraged me to step into that place of discomfort and vulnerability. I did, and you know what, something magical happened in that moment, something changed inside of me, I had transformed, I had taken a stretch and I had grown, I felt ALIVE!
Something really interesting happened this week. I was cleaning under a window sill in a bathroom and I noticed a spent butterfly chrysalis. I took a moment to appreciate the delicateness of it and thought about just how precarious a place it was for a caterpillar to choose to cocoon. Given we have 3 cats and a family of 4, there was a lot of potential to disturb or worse destroy the chrysalis. As I was admiring the caterpillars handy work, it suddenly dawned on me that here too, was a situation of absolute vulnerability. Yet with that vulnerability, came an amazing change, a transformation, a growth, and ultimtely the emergence of a beautiful butterfly. It reminded me so much of my own situation and the vulnerability I had felt, and then the transformation and growth that happened as a result of it.
So, let me ask you, are you growing? Do you feel alive? Is there a situation where maybe you are feeling vulnerable yourself and where the fear and thoughts of I am not good enough are holding you back? What area in your life do you think you might be choosing to stay in the “safe zone”?
With great vulnerability comes great growth, and with that growth comes that sense of being alive. Its Great To Be Alive!
Be kind and gentle with yourself, there is only one of you, and you are amazing!
If anything above has resonated with you, please do connect with me on social media and feel free to share your thoughts, I would love to read them!
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